For half the year, on Wednesday afternoons, you can find Bonnie Adams on a standup paddleboard in the middle of Beaver Lake.
“We practice out at Beaver Lake, the race we put on we do in Eureka Springs at the Beaver Lake Dam site. And our water is gorgeous.”
She obviously spends a lot of time out here. That’s because Adams is the head coach and founder of SWIM OZ, the largest Masters– or Adult– Swim Team in Arkansas. She’s been a swim coach for a long time and swam competitively before that, but she says she felt compelled to start SWIM OZ because of a lack of pool space in northwest Arkansas.
“In Bentonville, we have the Bentonville Community Center, and that pool is fantastic,” Adams said. “It's a 10-lane, 25-yard pool. We also have Melvin Ford Aquatic Center, which is an Olympic-sized pool, but unfortunately, that is only available to us during summertime. And so we lose that space nine months out of the year. And then Rogers does not have an indoor competitive pool, and that is very, very challenging. The whole city does not have an indoor competitive pool. And so their high school scrambles every year trying to locate and try to find pool space. We have 10 kids in a lane. And if you've ever swam laps in a pool– our adult listeners will understand this. Most adult swimmers want to swim one or two people in a lane, let alone 10. And so that, plus the need for Learn to Swim programming and water safety programming, is just– It's exponential growth with the amount of folks that are moving into this area.”
Therefore, SWIM OZ practices in open water. This is helpful outside of Beaver Lake’s near-unlimited room. Most athletes are training for triathlons, which usually hold swimming portions in lakes or oceans.
However, swimming around a lake might seem like an invitation for unnecessary risks, but Adams says safety is her priority– with her athletes and beyond the water.
“One of the things that I do is the Joys of Swimming,” she said. “We go into schools and provide water safety education. And so I look for business partners to sponsor the different schools and go in– Burton Pools and Spas has been a tremendous sponsor in years past– and we've been able to get in front of probably at this point in our relationship of about 20,000 students, which is fantastic, but there are a lot of students that still need this information in northwest Arkansas.”
As far as SWIM OZ, Adams fills her practices with precautions.
“We do require swim buoys, so everyone has a safety buoy attached to them,” she said. “Helps with visibility, also a huge safety piece, one for boaters, two for me, and three, they actually hold you up. So if you do need to take a break or anything like that, you've got your own support system there. It's like having a life jacket without being encumbered. And then we have anywhere from three to eight other kayaks or paddle boards, and occasionally a couple of motor boats that are that are out here as part of our safety group of volunteers.”
Next weekend, SWIM OZ will host OZ Mile Swim. Adams says her favorite aspect ofSWIM OZ is the community built from it, and the OZ Mile Swim festival is the ultimate culmination of that spirit of comradery.
“We actually kick off on Friday, Sept. 27, in Bentonville, at the Red Barn,” Adams said. “It's an expo. We have live music. We have a handful of vendors that really showcase what northwest Arkansas has to offer: crafts and soap and all kinds of things– as well as packet pickup for our racers. And it's just really a fun opportunity for our out of town swimmers and local swimmers to come and meet other swimmers, which is always a great thing.”
The next day, swimmers can choose to swim up to four miles for a nonprofit during the Hog Charity swim.
“This is not a race, and it goes to one of our three charities that we have partnered with for this,” she said. “So, we are raising funds to benefit the Rampy Foundation. We are raising funds to benefit Swim Across America, and we're also raising funds to benefit the Joys of Swimming. So you can choose one, two or all three of those charities to put your fundraising dollars towards. And then a portion of registration goes towards those beneficiaries as well.”
Sunday includes the main event: races. There’ll be a youth wave for swimmers ages 13-18. There’s the elite wave, in which athletes must be able to swim a mile faster than 30 minutes. The age group wave is for anyone ages 13 and up, with a complementary para-wave for swimmers with disabilities. And finally, the OZ Wave.
“And the OZ Wave is for anyone that is open water curious and wants to give it a try,” Adams said. “[Someone who] Doesn't want it to be in a race environment. We don't do any awards for the OZ Wave. Anything goes for the OZ Wave. So we allow safety buoys for for that event. We also allow fins or wetsuits or paddles or kickboards. We've got a bunch of our youth kids that will do multiple waves, and then they have fun on that last wave, and they'll bring out the giant flamingo floaties and all kinds of craziness and just have a great social kick for that last wave.”
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
Support KUAF and Keep Public Radio Thriving
For more than 50 years, KUAF has been your source for reliable news, enriching music and community connection. Your support allows us to bring you trustworthy journalism through programs like Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Ozarks at Large. As we build for the next 50 years, we need your support for KUAF to ensure we continue to provide the news, music, and connections you value. Your support is not just appreciated; it's essential. Make your gift today here.
Thank you for supporting KUAF!
